The invention relates to a device for detecting, for characterizing by differential diagnosis and for treating tumors according to the kind of the patent claims. Such a device is particularly suited for treating breast cancer.
A device for the non-invasive determination of the spatial distribution of electric impedances in the interior of a living being is known from the DE 42 43 628 A1. Furthermore, a method for the electric impedance imaging of animal living beings or human living beings by use of ionized metallic chelate is already known from the U.S. Pat. Specification No. 5,651,955 and the U.S. Pat. No. 5,733,525, wherein suitable contrast media are used and at least a part of a living being is imaged by exploiting impedances. In these references, there is not intended a right subsequent aftertreatment.
Furthermore, there is known the use of needles for the transurethral thermal ablation of hyperplasia of the prostate, refer to The Journal of Urology, vol. 156 (August 1996) pp. 413-419. However, this application is not connected with the generation of resistance images of an organism and an organ, respectively.
It is an object of the invention not only to achieve a tumor selective imaging which treats tissue with care, but also a reduction of the duration of treatment and/or an extension of the treatment to larger portions of tissue. That applies to both, the diagnosis and the therapy which directly follows the diagnosis, so the therapy is advantageously carried out at the same resistance image as the diagnosis is.
According to the invention the object is realized by the features of the claims. The generation and the evaluation of the impedance images of an organism or part of organism can be carried out either before or after adding the electrolyte solution or only after adding the electrolyte solution, however, prior to the therapeutical treatment procedure. In the latter case, a tumor typical threshold value should has to be defined prior. In particular, the enrichment of the electrolyte solution which preferably is a physiological saline solution favorably affects the diagnosis and the directly following treatment of the tumors. Thereby the resistance image of a tissue is made visible or in digital form and is intentionally inactivated by induction heating. Thereby the treatment can be carried out by a robot-like control of the needles